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Alexander Nickols
=About Me= My name is Alexander Nicholas Nickols. I was born on January 15, 1991 in West Hills, Calif. to Nick and Kathy Nickols. I also have an older sister, Kaitlin, who is only 15 months older than me. The name Alexander is a family name and is customary among Greeks that the first born son be named after the paternal grandfather. Thus, I was name after my grandfather, as he was named after his grandfather before him. In high school, I attended Chaminade College Preparatory, where I played lacrosse for fours years (also played one year in middle school). In the fall of 2009, I began my college experience studying architecture, but I would soon realized that public relations was my vocation. My goal after graduation is to work for a sports team preferably the Los Angeles Lakers; however, if Los Angeles is able to bring a pro-football team to the area, then I might consider switching sports. =My Family Ancestry= The Nickols Last summer, my grandmother, Helen Nickols, and I went to dinner a couple weeks before I had to go back to school. We discussed politics, my friends, my upcoming classes and our family. Before our dinner, I knew very little about my grandma’s family such as my aunts, uncles and cousins whom I have met only once. I also wanted to know more about my great grandparents; how they met, their professions and when they immigrated to the United States from Greece. Manifest for Venechana Preyianis.png|This is the Ellis Island manifest. Line 17 is where my great great grandmother signed her name (Venechana Preyianis). 483011 517740154916059 361315505 n.jpg|This is a picture of my grandparents wedding. Helen Nickols (left) and Alex Nickols (right). Recently, my grandmother’s cousin Alex, posted on her Facebook (yes my grandmother has a Facebook) an article from The Tulsa Daily World that was published on Sunday, May 8, 1921. The title of the article reads “TRIO END TEDIOUS TRIP FROM GREECE.” Underneath in the sub-headline, it says, “‘Journey’s End’ for Three Greek Women Means Home, Sweet Home.” In 1921, my grandmother’s mother and grandmother left their home in Levandia, Greece to live in the U.S. My great-great grandmother did not speak a word of English when the journalist interviewed the family at their new home in South Cheyenne. After reading the article, I couldn’t help but wonder if there are more newspaper articles about other family members. Many people can look up their relatives’ signature in a manifest or look up a birth/death certificate. But, I can go online and see my family’s name in that Sunday paper. Here is the link to the actual newspaper article: http://gateway.okhistory.org/ark:/67531/metadc77719/m1/6/zoom/ It was not long until my great grandmother, Euphrosyne “Effie,” who was a widow when she traveled to the U.S., met my great-grandfather, Peter Philips. They had six children together, three boys and three girls. However, my grandmother’s older sister, Helen, died as a baby. One day my grandmother asked her father why she didn’t have a middle name, and he told her they were afraid if they gave her one that she would die like her sister. My grandmother is the youngest of six children. She always jokes about how her three older brothers used to pick on her as a child such as calling her “the baby.” Now, she is the only remaining child. While my grandmother’s family was living Sapulpa, Okla., my great grandfather owned and operated a candy store called Pete’s Candies, as well as an ice cream parlor. Before he married my great grandmother, he lived in Chicago and learned how to make candy while working for Mars Candy. After he was married, he taught my great grandmother’s brothers how to make candy, and they named their stores Prayson’s Candies. Before the stock market crashed, my grand uncles had six retail stores: one in Oklahoma City, two in Tulsa and three in smaller cities across the state. After the crash, they were only able to keep one store running. To this day, my grandmother still tells me that she wishes her father taught her how to make candy, or how she could find the recipe to my great grandmother’s homemade bread. During World War II, my great uncles, Alex and Perry, fought to protect this country serving in the Office of Strategic Services, which was the precursor to the CIA. For fifty years, they were sworn to secrecy, until they were allowed to break that silence. In a series of interviews, my great uncle Alex discusses how he and his brother parachuted behind enemy lines gathering intelligence for the government, as well as carrying out missions. Whileworking on this project, I have started making a family tree, and I hope to add these interviews to their profiles. Around the age of five, my grandmother and her family moved to Oakland, Calif. Every time she mentions how her father packed up their stuff and moved them out of Oklahoma, she looks up to the sky and says, “thank you papa.” I am thankful for this as well because my grandmother was able to meet my grandfather, Alexander Nickols, my namesake, while they were singing in a church choir in San Francisco. While my grandfather was serving in the Army, they would exchange letters up until the day he was released. One day, my grandfather got down on one knee and proposed to my grandmother. They were married for 51 wonderful years. They had two children, my father, Nick, and my Thea (Greek for aunt) Mahi. Before I was born, it was certain that I was destined to be Alexander Nickols, the namesake to the greatest man whom I know. As the favorite grandson and only grandson in a large, extended Greek family, I was my Papou’s pride (Papou is Greek for grandfather), as he would tell all his friends about how I was named after him. My grandfather had always been there for his family and dearest friends. My Papou always taught me that there is nothing more important than your family. Growing up, I heard stories about my Papou getting up at 6:00 am before school to help his father, Nick, buy produce in downtown Los Angeles for his produce truck. When he went to UCLA as an undergraduate, he lived at home and continued to help his father with the business. And when my father was born, my Papou continued to work as he pursued his masters degree in mathematics. One of the fondest memories I have of my grandfather and I is when he took me to Joey’s Cigars when I turned 18. The Rickers Over the weekend, my mother, Kathy, and I spoke about her family and lineage. It is hard for me to discuss this area of my family because many of mother’s family died at young age, as well as their stories and memories. Both of my mother’s parents died from lung cancer brought on from smoking cigarettes. My grandpa, Bill Ricker, died at the age of 49 and my grandma, Lucille Straeit, at the age of 61. I wish that I could have met them at least once in my life, but I am still fortunate to have had two living grandparents growing up. What I do know about this side of my family is that they were Irish and German Americans living in the U.S. for approximately four to five generations. My great grandpa Ed fought in World War I, and met family still living in Germany. In addition, my mother’s father served in the Navy teaching sailors how to swim during World War II, but never saw combat. After the war, my grandpa Bill attended Loyola College in Chicago for free because of the G.I. Bill. It seems as though I know more about my father’s family than my mother’s, but my mother is the only one who knows the history of her family. My mother is the oldest of three children. While my mother was a child, they moved a few times because my grandfather was a salesman. They lived in Chicago, Kansas City and Ohio. During our conversation, she told me that her parents divorced when my aunt Therese was very young. It was not that they didn’t love one another; it was that they married each other in their early twenties without maturing. Many of my mother’s memories are of her living with her mother’s parents in Chicago, attending Saint Mary’s College at Notre Dame or pursuing her masters degree in business while working for Goldman Sacs. She moved to California and began working for Security Pacific, where she eventually met my father. They married each other on March 11, 1989, and have been married for 23 years. =Family Tree= Clicking on the link will direct you to ancestry.com where I have been adding to my family tree. One of the biggest obstacles to gathering information about my family is living in Oklahoma when most of my family lives in California and Chicago. http://trees.ancestry.com/tree/54594923/family =Legacy= 179971_10151021180618158_1696661209_n.jpg|Bike riding in San Louis Obispo 466836_10151079468398158_1587836499_o.jpg|Hanging out if California with my best friends. Frank "The Tank" Ramirez (far left), Scott Carr (center left), Jon Kim (center right) and me (far right). 575981_10151515671878158_1289751894_n.jpg|A day at Disneyland with the family and Nate. Me (far left), Nickols Nickols "Pops" (second to the left), Kathy Nickols "Mom" (center), Kaitlin Nickols (second to the right) and Nate Cordray (far right). I want to be remember as the next member of my family to pass on these stories, memories and histories. I have many goals such as becoming a public relations practitioner and one day a public relations manager. Sports in my passion, and I hope to have a career working for the Los Angeles Lakers. If Los Angeles ever gets a football team, then I would want to do the public relations campaigns and managing for that team, but it could be a while before a football team returns the Los Angeles area. Finally, I just want to be happy, and the only way I can be happy is with my family. Like my grandfather said, there is nothing more important than family, and I will continue to meet all challenges head on with hard work and the support of my family and my friends. Category:Students